A simple oneshot that was running through my head for a while. Yes, what else is new? I know, I know.
I'm not really sure how well its going to be. Usually it sounds better in my head.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the lovely Curtis family. I own Cheryl Simmons and Daniel. Neither is a Mary-Sue nor a Gary-Stu. I do not get into their characters enough for them to be classified as one.
--
I inhaled slowly through my nose and exhaled sharply out of my mouth. Gripping the steering wheel, I tried to run through the situation in my head. Each time the vision playing something that should be on a horror film. My dreams haunted me until this very day about how it would go as I told these boys what happened.
Boys? Who am I kidding? The oldest one, Darrel, is older then me by two years. I could never imagine myself, at 20, starting to take care of my two younger siblings. I don't even have siblings and its still a scary thought.
My head fell back against the seat and my hand made its way to the ignition, where my keys still sat. I told myself, I yelled at myself, to just turn the keys and go home. But no. My guilty conscience was over-riding that.
It's like what you see in movies. An angel sitting on your left shoulder, telling you to do what's right, and the devil on your right shoulder, telling you to just forget about it. The constant bickering was enough to send a person straight to a straight jacket.
Coming this far; turning back shouldn't even be a thought at this point.
I yanked the keys out of the ignition and turned the rearview mirror down and to the left to get a good look at myself. I hated what I saw. I saw a murderer stare back at me. If only I had a time machine to turn back and change that night; I would.
I opened the car door and brought myself out of the car. I soothed my skirt and my hair. I kept reminding myself to keep breathing, as my feet carried me to the front of their house. I stopped in front of the house and I thought about my house.
My mom was always baking and I wondered if Mrs. Curtis was too. It gave it that home sweet home smell. If she and dad were gone, that home sweet home feeling would be gone too. I wondered if their house still had that feeling. The thoughts caused me to frown.
By the time my thoughts gathered, I realized my feet carried me to the front door and my hand was now knocking. A boy no older then 16 answered and he smiled slightly at me.
My voice caught in my throat as I tried to speak. I probably looked like a fool standing there, with my mouth open and no words coming out. He raised his eyebrows and began to shut the door.
"Wait," I called. He sighed and turned into the house to speak.
"Darry! Some girl is here. . And she's not talking!" The screen door slapped shut and I heard another voice through the house.
"What?" the person named Darry answered. Wait, Darry. . Darrel. It clicked. This was the Darry Curtis that went to high school with me. Why hadn't I realized it before? Oh my god, that just made it so much worse that I actually know him. Oh gosh, and Daniel. He knew him, too.
Why hadn't I listened to myself to just turn home? No, I had to do the right thing.
"Cheryl?" He stepped out onto the porch and let the screen door slam behind him. "No way, Cheryl Simmons." He laughed and wrapped his arms around me. I brought my hands up behind him and hugged him back. He pulled away and I forced a smile.
"Hey," I mumbled.
"How have you've been?" He asked and laughed again. "Wow, I haven't seen you since a week before graduation. You look good. You doin' okay? I heard what happened to Danny a while back. "
"Thanks, and yeah I know, I left right before you and him graduated. I came back for a while 2 years ago and left again. And um, that's kind of the reason I'm here."
"To talk about Dan? Okay. What about him?" He looked at me and I avoided eye contact with him by looking at his younger brother by the door. "Ponyboy, can you head back inside?" Ponyboy?
"Actually, I wanted to tell you this alone," I told him and he raised his eyebrows.
"Um, sure. Hold on." He walked back inside and I leaned against the railing. Telling him alone won't be so bad. Right? I frowned. Lets just hope he doesn't cry. I think my heart would physically break. He came back out of the house with a different shirt on and his shoes on.
"Lets go?" he asked and walked down the stairs. I followed him and he turned around. "Wanna walk?" I nodded and fell in step with him.
"So, its about Danny, correct?" I nodded again. "Oh come on Cheryl, this guessing game is no fun. You gotta talk." I looked away and forced a smile.
"Alright, so um. You remember the whole thing right?" I asked him, still looking forward.
"Actually, I didn't really hear about it or read into it. I was really busy focusing on my parents deaths. You heard about that right?" I nodded. "Yeah, some asshole was drunk driving." I bit at my lip. "Yeah, I don't even know who it was. Anyway, so tell me what happened with Danny."
"W-well," I choked out the words.
"Come on, Danny. Give me the keys. I'll drive us home."
"No way, babe. I will not be seen driven out of here by my girlfriend," he laughed and opened up the driver's side door. "Get in, babe." I sighed and looked at him.
"Hold on, I'm gonna go back inside and call my parents. You really shouldn't be driving drunk." I started back inside, but he caught me from behind.
"Get your ass in the car," he slurred in my ear. My body tensed and I ran through my mind about what to do. 'Please God,' I mentally prayed. 'Let us be okay.' His mouth ran down my neck and his teeth skimmed my skin. I leaned against him until I felt his body turn away.
I got in on the passenger's side and he got in and started it.
"Will you stop lookin' at me like that? You're gonna burn holes into my skull."
"Good! And maybe it'll knock some common sense into you," I yelled. He leaned back into his seat and let out an annoyed sigh.
"Listen, babe. I'm fine to drive. Quit worryin' your pretty little head." He sat up again and put the car in drive and we were going.
I kept my eyes on the road and I was going to be 'on my toes' so to speak. He must have noticed my uneasiness.
"Do you not trust me?" Was he seriously asking me this?
"Danny.." I started but he cut me off again. I felt the car speed up and looked at the speedometer. "Slow down. Come on this isn't funny." Faster and faster.
"No, answer me, Cheryl. Do you not trust me?" he growled. I sighed and bit at the corner of my lip. There was a sharp turn up ahead and he showed no sign of slowing down.
"Danny! Come on, slow the hell down. You're scaring me. Danny, please," I begged. He hit the brakes and we went around the corner, but he wasn't done. We were gaining speed again.
"Do you fuckin' trust me? Or is this relationship gonna go nowhere? I gotta know, Cheryl." He was quiet for a while. The car still maintaining the current fast speed. It was a good thing we were on a straight away. He turned his head towards me.
"Do you trust me?" I was on the verge of crying now. The tears stung at my eyes and my breathing was coming out in short gasps.
"Danny, come on. Just slow down." The tears were rolling down my face now.
"Do. You. Trust. Me." His eyes were still on me. My bottom lip trembled as I tried to work up the courage of telling him the answer.
"No, not right now. I'm afraid you're gonna get me kil-" My head turned back as I heard a car horn. "DANNY!" His head whipped around to look in front of us. He slammed on the breaks, but it did no good.
"We had hit the car head on. As he was on the verge of yelling at me, we had made our way into the opposite lane."
We were still walking up the street. He had been quiet, but the way he looked at me was a sign to show he wanted me to continue on.
I screamed. So loud, too. The sound of the tired squealing against the pavement and the metal against metal was enough so make my head spin. It was so loud. Then, everything was quiet and I realized I was no longer sitting up. I was laying down. On something cool.
I realized I was on the ground. The pavement. It felt like forever that I laid there. I heard sirens in the distant and soon footsteps were close to my ears. So many people were talking to me telling me it was going to be okay.
"I hate myself to this day for askin' what I asked," I sighed.
"What did you ask?" he pushed me to move on.
"How's Danny?" The question was the only thing I would say to everybody who tried to talk to me. Finally, some older man told me.
"He's right over there, sweetheart," he told me.
"I know, but how is he. Tell him I'm sorry. And that I do trust him." My eyes shut and I felt myself sliding in and out of conciseness.
I came to and I was in the emergency room. Doctors and nurses were crowded around my bed. I heard arguing and tried to advert my vision over to them.
"I need to talk to her," a man in a blue police jacket told my nurse. "I just need to know what happened."
"He was drunk, that's what happened," my nurse snapped back.
"Please ma'am, just let us talk to her. We're trying to figure out the best way to tell the victims' three sons."
"I'm sorry, but you cannot talk to her. This can wait until later. Do not keep their sons waiting. They deserve to know. I do not understand why you have to talk to her to tell them that!" My nurse was feisty, I thought.
"Let me talk to him," I croaked. All of the heads turned down to me. The police officer walked over.
"Tell their three sons, I said I'm sorry. It is all my fault. I should have made him let me drive home. I should have just told him I trusted him. Its all my fault. Tell them that. Danny doesn't deserve the blame for this one."
I was crying now.
"I'm sorry, Darry. I needed to tell you face to face." I licked my lips. "I was afraid that they were going to make it all out to be his fault when it really was mine. I should have just told him I did. Your parents would still be here.
His face was unreadable. No emotion was played in his eyes. They were so shallow.
"Darry, please. Say something."
"I-it was Danny? Danny was the drunk driver?" I nodded. Tears glossed his eyes. I fell into him and wrapped my arms around him
"I'm so sorry," I sobbed. "Its all my fault. I'm sorry."
His arms slowly made their way around me.
"Its not your fault. Don't blame yourself, okay?" He pulled away. "I blame myself to this very day for them dying. I feel like I should have done something."
"What? No, Darry," I swallowed hard and my eyes widened. "Don't blame yourself. If anyone should not blame themselves its you." The tears he was trying to hold back started to fall and I cried harder.
"It just hurts more if its someone you know that did something to hurt you. Purposely or not."* He pulled me too him and let the tears fall into my hair.
"I'm sorry," was all I could get out as I sobbed into his chest.
--
*I know this from recent personal experience. That is what sparked my stupid imagination into this.
I feel this came out okay.
The ending was what was hard to write.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Review me, pleasee (: